The venue of the Oct. 15 concert of BTS, promotional ambassador for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, has been moved within the port city from the special stage Busan Ilgwang in Gijang-gun County to Asiad Main Stadium. (BTS' official Facebook)

By Lee Jihae

The Oct. 15 concert of BTS, promotional ambassador for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, will be held at Asiad Main Stadium instead of the special stage Busan Ilgwang in the city's Gijang-gun County.

The group's management agency Big Hit Music on Sept. 2 announced the change in venue for the concert titled "Yet to Come in Busan," which seeks to boost the port city's campaign to host the World Expo.

"We shifted the venue to prioritize spectator accessibility and convenience to create a more pleasant and smooth viewing environment while keeping the purpose of the concert alive," Big Hit said.

The stadium covers 89,055 square m overall, with the stadium area of 19,586 square m and 53,769 seats.

Yonhap News said the venue was moved after analysis that reflected complaints of the former site being too far from the city and the inconvenience of getting there.

Big Hit had initially selected the stage located in the township of Ilgwang-myeon, the former site of domestic glass producer Hanglas, eyeing attendance of 100,000 spectators. The venue, however, is far from the city and hard to reach by public transportation, and fears grew over its narrow entrance and the potential for safety issues if large crowds assembled.

The stadium, however, has 72 points of entry and exit, making it far safer for such crowds.

The concert is free under the concept of a global BTS festival aimed at boosting Busan's bid. With the boy band serving as promotional ambassador for the campaign, the purpose of the event is to promote the city and Korean culture under differentiated scale and stage management.

Live Play, or an in-person live broadcasting of the event, will also be shown on the large screen at the outdoor parking lot of the international passenger terminal at the Port of Busan.

The Busan city government said, "The city of Busan will thoroughly respond and prepare based on the change in the concert venue to prevent problems in safety, transportation or accommodations."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sept. 4 said a government delegation is visiting Paris from Sept. 5-8 to submit to the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) Busan's plan to bid for the expo.

The contingent comprises First Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Jang Young-jin, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and members of the board of directors at the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

The delegation will hold talks with the BIE's secretary general, hold bilateral and multilateral dialogue with negotiating partner countries, and launch full-scale activity for the bid.

jihlee08@korea.kr